Thawing Oven

Abstract

An apparatus and method for thawing a product. The apparatus includes a heating chamber, and an electrical control unit. The heating chamber includes a product chamber that holds a product, at least one heating element, each heating element emitting infrared energy in a direction of the product, and at least one temperature sensor, each temperature sensor measuring a surface temperature of the product. The electrical control unit includes a processor that controls and monitors said at least one heating element, and said at least one temperature sensor to raise a temperature of the product from an initial temperature to a set-point temperature, a connection to each heating element, and a connection to each temperature sensor.

1 - 14 . (canceled) 
     
     
         15 . An article of manufacture, comprising a machine-accessible medium having instructions encoded thereon for enabling a processor to perform the operations of:
 determining whether a configuration of an apparatus for thawing a product is safe for operation;   thawing the product by raising a temperature of the product from an initial temperature to a set-point temperature by:
 controlling heat produced by at least one heating element in a heating chamber, each heating element emitting infrared energy in a direction of a product chamber that holds the product; and 
 monitoring the temperature of the product by examining a surface temperature of the product measured by at least one temperature sensor in the heating chamber. 
   
     
     
         16 . The article of manufacture of  claim 15 , wherein the product is at least one of a medical product, a biomedical product, and a pharmaceutical product. 
     
     
         17 . The article of manufacture of  claim 16 , wherein the product is at least one of plasma, Fresh Frozen Plasma, and blood. 
     
     
         18 . The article of manufacture of  claim 15 , wherein to determine whether the configuration of the apparatus for thawing the product is safe for operation further comprises:
 detecting that the product chamber is properly installed in the heating chamber;   detecting that the product is present in the product chamber; and   detecting that a chamber door is closed, the chamber door operative to access the product chamber and the product.   
     
     
         19 . The article of manufacture of  claim 15 , wherein the product chamber is a vessel having a substantially flat bottom surface, a cylindrical side wall, and an open top. 
     
     
         20 . The article of manufacture of  claim 19 , wherein the open top of the cylindrical side wall of the product chamber receives a clamp that holds the product and suspends the product within the product chamber to avoid contact between the product and the product chamber. 
     
     
         21 . The article of manufacture of  claim 19 , wherein the vessel is an acrylic vessel that filters the infrared energy from said at least one heating element, thereby allowing passage of a desired range of wavelengths, and preventing passage of an undesired range of wavelengths. 
     
     
         22 . The article of manufacture of  claim 15 , wherein each heating element emits mid-infrared energy. 
     
     
         23 . The article of manufacture of  claim 15 , wherein each heating element has an emitting surface that is substantially flat, thereby allowing a uniform pattern of the infrared energy in the direction of the product. 
     
     
         24 . The article of manufacture of  claim 15 , wherein each heating element has an emitting surface that is concave, thereby allowing a concentrated pattern of the infrared energy in the direction of the product. 
     
     
         25 . The article of manufacture of  claim 15 , wherein each temperature sensor emits an infrared beam to measure the surface temperature of the product. 
     
     
         26 . The article of manufacture of  claim 15 , wherein said at least one heating element is located outside the product chamber, and positioned around the product chamber to maximize the exposure of the infrared energy on the product, and wherein said at least one temperature sensor is located outside the product chamber, and positioned around the product chamber to maximize accuracy of the measurement of the surface temperature of the product. 
     
     
         27 . The article of manufacture of  claim 15 , wherein the processor further perform the operations of:
 communicating with an operator interface to start and stop an operation cycle for the apparatus, and to provide a status of the operation cycle.